Method and apparatus for bypassing cascaded h-bridge (CHB) power cells and power sub cell for multilevel inverter

ABSTRACT

Multilevel power converters, power cells and methods are presented for selectively bypassing a power stage of a multilevel inverter circuit, in which a single relay or contactor includes first and second normally closed output control contacts coupled between a given power cell switching circuit and the given power cell output, along with a normally open bypass contact coupled across the power stage output, with a local or central controller energizing the coil of the relay or contactor of a given cell to bypass that cell.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/628,334, filed on Feb. 23, 2015, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BYPASSING CASCADED H-BRIDGE (CHB) POWER CELLS AND POWER SUB CELL FOR MULTILEVEL INVERTER, which is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority to and the benefit of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/572,995, filed on Aug. 13, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,007,787, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BYPASSING CASCADED H-BRIDGE (CHB) POWER CELLS AND POWER SUB CELL FOR MULTILEVEL INVERTER, the entirety of which applications and patent are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

Multilevel inverters are sometimes employed in motor drives and other power conversion applications to generate and provide high voltage drive signals to a motor or other load in high power applications. One form of multilevel inverter is a Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) inverter architecture, which employs multiple series-connected power stages such as H-Bridge inverters for driving each motor winding phase. Each H-Bridge is powered by a separate DC source and is driven by switch signals to generate positive or negative output voltage, with the series combination of multiple H-Bridge stages providing multilevel inverter output capability for driving a load. Device degradation within a particular power stage, however, may inhibit the ability to provide a desired output voltage to a load, particularly since the stages are connected in series with one another. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide the ability to bypass a particular degraded power stage, for example, to continue operation of a multilevel inverter at reduced output capacity and/or to bypass one or more healthy power stages to balance a power converter output to accommodate one or more degraded power stages that have also been bypassed.

SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present disclosure are now summarized to facilitate a basic understanding of the disclosure, wherein this summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure, and is intended neither to identify certain elements of the disclosure, nor to delineate the scope thereof. Rather, the primary purpose of this summary is to present various concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form prior to the more detailed description that is presented hereinafter. Multilevel power converters, power cells and bypass methods are disclosed for selectively bypassing a power stage of a multilevel inverter in which a single relay or contactor includes one or more normally closed output control contacts coupled between a given power cell switching circuit and the given power cell output, along with a normally open bypass contact coupled across the power stage output, with a local or central controller energizing the coil of the relay or contactor of a given cell to bypass that cell.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and drawings set forth certain illustrative implementations of the disclosure in detail, which are indicative of several exemplary ways in which the various principles of the disclosure may be carried out. The illustrated examples, however, are not exhaustive of the many possible embodiments of the disclosure. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the disclosure will be set forth in the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram; and

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the figures, several embodiments or implementations are hereinafter described in conjunction with the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, and wherein the various features are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1-3, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary multilevel inverter motor drive power conversion system 10 which includes a three-phase multilevel inverter 40 with series-connected power stages 100-1, 100-2, 100-3, 100-4, 100-5, 100-6 for each of three sections associated with the motor phases U, V and W of a motor load 50. Other embodiments are possible in which other forms of load 50 are driven, wherein the present disclosure is not limited to motor drive type power converters. In certain embodiments, the individual power stages 100 include an H-bridge switching circuit or inverter 140 with switching devices (e.g., Q1-Q4 in FIG. 2 below), although any suitable form of switching circuit 140 may be provided in the individual power stages 100 for generating a power stage output having one of two or more possible levels according to switching control signals 222 provided by an inverter control component 220 of a power converter controller 200.

The example of FIG. 1 is a multiphase 13-level inverter 40 with six power stages 100 for each of three motor load phases U, V and W (e.g., 100-U1, 100-U2, 100-U3, 100-U4, 100-U5 and 100-U6 for phase U; 100-V1, 100-V2, 100-V3, 100-V4, 100-V5 and 100-V6 for phase V; and stages 100-W1, 100-W2, 100-W3, 100-W4, 100-W5, 100-W6 for phase W). However, the various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in association with single phase or multiphase, multilevel inverter type power conversion systems having any integer number “N” power stages 100, where N is greater than one. In addition, although the illustrated embodiments utilize H-Bridge stages 100 cascaded to form multilevel inverters 40 for each phase of the motor drive system 10, other types and forms of power stages 100 can be used, such as a stage 100 with a switching circuit having more or less than four switching devices, wherein the broader aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to H-Bridge power cells or sub cells shown in the illustrated embodiments. For instance, embodiments are possible, in which the individual cells or sub cells may include as few as two switching devices or any integer number of switches greater than equal to two.

As best seen in FIG. 1, the power converter 10 is supplied with multiphase AC input power from a phase shift transformer 30 having a multiphase primary 32 (a delta configuration in the illustrated embodiment) receiving three-phase power from an AC power source 20. The transformer 30 includes 18 three-phase secondaries 34, with six sets of three delta-configured three-phase secondaries 34, with each set being at a different phase relationship. Although the primary 32 and the secondaries 34 are configured as delta windings in the illustrated example, “Y” connected primary windings and/or secondary windings can alternatively be used. In addition, while the transformer has three-phase primary and secondary windings 32, 34, other single or multiphase implementations can be used. In addition, the various secondaries 34 in the illustrated embodiments are phase shifted, although non-phase shifted embodiments are possible. Each of the three-phase secondaries 34 in the example of FIG. 1 is coupled to provide AC power to drive a three-phase rectifier 120 of a corresponding power stage 100 of the three-phase multilevel inverter 40. The inverter 40 is a 13-level inverter with six cascaded H-Bridge power stages 100U-1 through 100U-6 having outputs 104U-1 through 104U-6 connected in series with one another (cascaded) between a motor drive neutral point N and a first winding U of a three-phase motor load 50. Similarly, six power stages 100V-1 through 100V-6 provide series connected voltage outputs 104V-1 through 104V-6 between the neutral N and the second winding V, and six power stages 100W-1 through 100W-6 provide series connected voltage outputs 104W-1 through 104W-6 between the neutral N and the third winding W of the motor 50. The controller 200 provides control signals 222U to the power stages 100U-1 through 100U-6 associated with the first motor winding U, and also provides control signals 222V to the power stages 100V-1 through 100V-6 and control signals 222W to the power stages 100W-1 through 100W-6.

Referring also to FIGS. 2 and 3, power cells 100 are provided for use as the power stages of single or multi-phase multilevel inverters 40, with bypass switching devices actuated by a bypass component 210 of the controller 200. The controller 200 and its components 210, 220 can be implemented using any suitable hardware, processor executed software or firmware, or combinations thereof, wherein an exemplary embodiment of the controller 200 includes one or more processing elements such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSPs, programmable logic, etc., along with electronic memory, program memory and signal conditioning driver circuitry, with the processing element(s) programmed or otherwise configured to generate signals 222 suitable for operating the switching devices of the power stages 100. In addition, the illustrated controller 200 in certain embodiments implements the bypass control component 210 to generate bypass control signals 212 for selective bypassing of one or more of the power stages 100.

In certain implementations, the bypass control component 210 provides individual signals or values 212 to the individual power cells 100 or sub cells 400 (FIGS. 5-7 below) for direct control over DC link control switches 101, bypass switches 102 and/or output control switches 103 (FIG. 3). In other possible implementations, local switching driver circuitry and/or switching logic can be provided within the power stages 100, 400 to implement the bypass switching operation as described herein based on one or more initiating actions from the bypass control component 210 or from any other controlling element of or associated with the power conversion system 10. For instance, a single signal or value can be provided to an individual power cell 100 or power sub cell 400, and a local logic and/or switching control circuit on the cell 100 or sub cell 400 can initiate the described bypass switching operation in response to receipt of such a signal or value.

FIG. 2 illustrates one possible implementation of an H-Bridge power stage 100. The power stage in FIG. 2 is implemented as a power cell 100 including an AC input 108 with input terminals 108A, 108B and 108C connectable to receive AC input power, in this case three-phase power from an AC source such as a secondary winding 34 of the transformer 30 in FIG. 1. The AC input power is provided from the terminals 108 to a rectifier circuit 120 having onboard rectifier diodes D1-D6 forming a three-phase rectifier 120 which receives three-phase AC power from the corresponding transformer secondary 34. In this example, a passive rectifier 120 is used, but active rectifier circuits or other forms of rectifiers can be used, whether having a single or multi-phase input. The power cell 100 also includes a DC link circuit 130 and a switching circuit (e.g., inverter 140) providing an output voltage V_(OUT) to a power cell output 104 having first and second output terminals 104A and 104B. In the illustrated embodiment, the rectifier 120 provides DC power across a DC capacitor C connected between DC link terminals 131 and 132 of the DC link circuit 130.

The DC link circuit 130, in turn, provides an input to an H-Bridge inverter 140 formed by four switching devices Q1-Q4 configured in an “H” bridge circuit. Although the illustrated power stage 100 operates based on DC power provided by an internal rectifier circuitry 120 driven by an AC input from the corresponding transformer secondary 34, any suitable form of a DC input can be provided to the power stages 100 in accordance with the present disclosure, and the power stages 100 may, but need not, include onboard rectification circuitry 120. For instance, FIG. 7 below shows a power sub cell 400 with a DC input for receiving externally supplied DC input power, such as from a rectifier 120 provided as part of the transformer 30 or from an external rectifier 120 mounted in a transformer cabinet (not shown) or elsewhere within the power conversion system. In addition, any suitable switching circuit configuration can be used in the switching circuits 140 (e.g., inverter) of individual stages 100 or sub stages 400 having at least two switching devices Q configured to selectively provide voltage at the stage output 104 of at least two distinct levels. Moreover, any suitable type of switching devices Q may be used in the power stages 100, including without limitation semiconductor-based switches such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs), gate turn-off thyristors (GTOs), integrated gate commutated thyristors (IGCTs), etc.

The illustrated four-switch H-Bridge implementation (FIG. 2) advantageously allows selective switching control signal generation by the controller 200 to provide at least two distinct voltage levels at the output 104 in a controlled fashion. For instance, a voltage is provided at the output terminals 104A and 104B of a positive DC level substantially equal to the DC bus voltage across the DC link capacitor C (e.g., +VDC) when the switching devices Q1 and Q4 are turned on (conductive) while the other devices Q2 and Q3 are off (nonconductive). Conversely, a negative output is provided when Q2 and Q3 are turned on while Q1 and Q4 are off (e.g., −VDC). Accordingly, the exemplary H-Bridge power stage 100 advantageously allows selection of two different output voltages, and the cascaded configuration of six such stages (e.g., FIG. 1) allows selective switching control signal generation by the inverter control component 220 to implement 13 different voltage levels for application to the corresponding motor phase U, V or W. It is noted that other possible switching circuitry may be used to implement a two, three, or K-level selectable output for individual stages 100, where K is any positive integer greater than 1. Any suitable logic or circuitry in the controller 200 can be used for providing inverter switching control signals 222 to a given power stage 100, 400, where the controller 200 may also include signal level amplification and/or driver circuitry (not shown) to provide suitable drive voltage and/or current levels sufficient to selectively actuate the switching devices Q1-Q4, for instance, such as comparators, carrier wave generators or digital logic and signal drivers.

For bypassing operation, the power cell 100 in FIG. 2 includes a DC link control switch 101 coupled between a first internal rectifier node 121 and a first DC link node 131 and operated in one of two possible states according to a bypass control signal 212-1 from the bypass controller 210. The DC link control switch 101 can be any suitable form of single or multiple electrical or electromechanical switching device, including without limitation semiconductor-based switches, contactors, relays, etc. In this regard, the DC link control switch 101 is operative in a first state (e.g., closed or low impedance/conductive) to allow current to flow between the first DC link node 131 and the first DC node 121 of the rectifier 120 and in a second state (open or high impedance/non-conductive) to prevent current from flowing between the first DC link node 131 and the first DC node 121 of the rectifier 120. A DC link control switch can alternatively be connected in the lower DC path between nodes 132 and 122.

In addition, the power cell 100 includes a bypass switch 102 connected across the output terminals 104 and operative according to a bypass control signal 212-2 from the controller 210. The bypass switch 102 is operative in a nonconductive state by which the cell output voltage V_(OUT) is controlled by operation of the switching circuit 140, and a conductive state (e.g., closed or conductive) to bypass the output 104 of the switching circuit 140. The bypass switch 102 can be any suitable form of single or multiple electrical or electromechanical switching device.

In operation of the converter 10, the bypass controller 210 selectively bypasses the cell 100 by placing the at least one DC link control switch 101 in the second (e.g., open or non-conductive) state via signal 212-1 and by placing the bypass switch 102 in the conductive state via signal 212-2. In certain implementations, moreover, the bypass control component 210 places the bypass switch 102 in the conductive state after placing the DC link control switch 101 in the second state, such as by actuating a transition at time T1 in the bypass control signal 212-1 prior to a transition in the signal 212-2 at a later time T2 as seen in the signal diagram portion of FIG. 2. Relative timing and sequence of the switching operations is not critical in all embodiments of the present disclosure, and can be implemented in different orders and other implementations. The difference in the switching times (e.g., T2-T1) for the illustrated embodiments and switching sequences, moreover, can be any suitable length of time controlled by the bypass component 210, for instance, based on the value of the DC link capacitance C or other considerations such as operation of potentially degraded devices within the power cell 100 and/or the need to quickly bypass the power cell 100. In certain embodiments, moreover, the controller 210 may selectively adjust the bypass switching control timing according to one or more conditions in the power converter 10.

Referring also to FIG. 3, certain embodiments of the power cell 100 may include multiple DC link control switches 101 and/or one or more output control switches 103 may be provided. As shown in FIG. 3, a first DC link control switch 101A is coupled between a first DC node 121 of the rectifier 120 and the first DC link node 131, and a second DC link control switch 101B is coupled between a second DC node 122 of the rectifier 120 and the second DC link node 131. The DC link control switches 101A and 101B are individually operative in a first state (e.g., closed or conductive) to allow current to flow between the rectifier 120 and the DC link circuit 130, as well as in a second state (e.g., open or non-conductive) to prevent current from flowing between the rectifier 120 and the DC link circuit 130. In operation, the controller 200 selectively bypasses the power stage 100 by placing the first and second DC link control switches 101A and 101B (or at least one of them) in the respective second states via a control signal 212-1 and by placing the bypass switch 102 in the conductive state via signal 212-2. As noted above, in certain embodiments, the bypass control component 210 of the controller 200 actuates the DC link control switches 101 via the signal 212-1 (e.g., at T1 in the timing diagram of FIG. 3) prior to closing the bypass switch 102 via the signal 212-2 (e.g., at time T2). Although a single DC link control switching signal 212-1 is shown in the example of FIG. 3, separate DC link control signals 212-1 can be used for the individual switches 101A and 101B in other implementations, which may, but need not be switched at the same time.

The power cell of FIG. 3 also includes output control switches 103, which can be any suitable form of a single or multiple electrical or electromechanical switching device. In the illustrated embodiment, first and second output control switches 103A and 103B are provided in the connections from the inverter 140 to the output terminals 104, but other embodiments are possible using only a single output control switch 103 connected in one of these two output circuit branches. In the example of FIG. 3, the first output control switch 103A is coupled between a first internal node 141 of the switching circuit 140 and the first output terminal 104A, and the second output control switch 103B is coupled between a second internal node 142 of the switching circuit 140 and the second output terminal 104B. Each output control switch 103A and 103B in this embodiment is operative in a first (e.g., closed or conductive) state to allow current to flow between the switching circuit 140 and the output 104 and in a second (e.g., open or nonconductive) state to prevent current from flowing between the switching circuit 140 and the output 104.

The bypass control component 210 of the controller 200 selectively bypasses the power stage 100 in FIG. 3 by placing the first and second output control switches 103A and 103B in the respective second states via a single control signal 212-2, although separate control signals 212-2 can be used for the switches 103A and 103B in other embodiments. As seen in the timing diagram of FIG. 3, moreover, the bypass control component 210 in certain embodiments selectively bypasses the power cell 100 by placing the output control switch(es) 103 in the second state (e.g., via signal(s) 212-3) at time T3 in FIG. 3 after placing the DC link control switch(es) 101 in the second state (e.g., via signal(s) 212-1) at time T1, and closes the bypass switch 102 at time T2 via signal 212-2 after placing the output control switch(es) 103 in the second state. In these embodiments, the timing between the signals 212 (e.g., T3-T1 and T2-T3) can be set according to any of the above described considerations and can be selectively adjusted by the controller based on one or more power converter conditions. As discussed above, moreover, other switching sequences and/or relative timing may be implemented in other embodiments, wherein the broader aspects of the present disclosure are not limited by the illustrated examples.

FIG. 4 shows a process 300 for bypassing a power stage of a multilevel inverter circuit 40, such as the power cell 100 in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 and/or a power sub cell 400 as illustrated and described below in connection with FIGS. 5-7. In certain embodiments, the controller 200 includes at least one processor programmed to perform the process 300 such as by a bypass control component 210 to provide the signals 212 to select ones of the power cells 100 or sub cells 400, along with other functionality set forth herein (e.g., providing switching control signals 222 via the inverter control component 220) according to computer executable instructions from a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a computer memory, a memory within a power converter control system (e.g., controller 200), a CD-ROM, floppy disk, flash drive, database, server, computer, etc. which has computer executable instructions for performing the processes and controller functionality described herein. While the exemplary method 300 is depicted and described in the form of a series of acts or events, it will be appreciated that the various methods of the disclosure are not limited by the illustrated ordering of such acts or events except as specifically set forth herein. In this regard, except as specifically provided hereinafter, some acts or events may occur in different order and/or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and described herein, and not all illustrated steps may be required to implement a process or method in accordance with the present disclosure. The illustrated methods may be implemented in hardware, processor-executed software, or combinations thereof, in order to provide the power stage bypassing concepts disclosed herein.

The bypass operation can be initiated according to any suitable input signal received by the controller 200 in certain implementations. For instance, the power conversion controller 200 may detect one or more operating conditions of the power converter 10 indicating possible degradation of one or more power stages 100, 400, and may initiate bypassing of one or more selected cells 100 and/or sub cells 400 in response. In other possible implementations, the controller 200 may receive a signal or message from an external device (not shown) and initiate bypassing accordingly. Bypassing operation begins in the process 300 by opening at least one DC link control switch (e.g., switch 101 in FIG. 2 or switches 101A and 101B in FIG. 3 between the rectifier 120 and the DC link circuit 130) at 302 to prevent current from flowing into the DC link capacitance C of the power stage 100, 400. In certain embodiments, one or more output control switches (e.g., 103 in FIG. 3) are opened at 304 to prevent current flow between the inverter 140 and the output 104. At 306, a bypass switch (e.g., switch 102 in FIGS. 2 and 3) is closed in order to bypass the power stage output 104. As discussed above, in certain embodiments, the bypass switch 102 is closed at 306 after opening the at least one DC link control switch 101 at 302. Moreover, if one or more output control switches 103 are used between the inverter output and a power cell output, such can be opened at 304 in certain embodiments after the DC link control switch(es) is opened at 302 and before the bypass switch is closed at 306.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, the above described bypass concepts can be employed in association with power conversion systems 10 having multilevel inverters 40 formed using power sub cells 400 which do not include a rectifier 120, but instead have a DC input. FIG. 5 illustrates such a power converter 10 with a three-phase multilevel inverter having six sub cells 400 connected in series for powering each motor phase U, V and W to drive a motor load 50. The basic operation and construction of the power conversion system 10 in FIG. 5 is essentially as described above in connection with FIG. 1, except that sub cells 400 are used as the power stages, and are supplied with DC input power from an external rectifier 120. As seen in the example of FIG. 5, for instance, individual rectifiers 120 may be provided as part of a transformer assembly 30, with each such rectifier 120 being connected to an associated transformer secondary 34, whether single or multiphase as described above. Each sub cell 400 in this example receives DC input power from a corresponding one of the rectifiers 120 as shown in FIG. 5. In other possible implementations, the external rectifiers 120 may be located elsewhere in the power conversion system 10, such as within a transformer cabinet (not shown) in one example. The power sub cells 400, in this regard, may be a low-cost replacement part compared with the complete power cells 100 described above. Moreover, the transformer assembly 30 or a cabinet thereof can be modified so as to integrate the rectifiers 120 in certain embodiments, and may allow for replacement of individual rectifiers 120 in certain implementations. Other embodiments in which the external rectifiers 120 are located within the power conversion system 10 may provide facilities allowing replacement of individual rectifiers 120 in certain embodiments. These implementations, moreover, may conserve wiring by routing only two DC lines to each sub cell 400 instead of connecting three AC lines to each power cell 100 (for multiphase secondaries 34).

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary power sub cell 400 which can be used as a power stage in a multilevel inverter circuit 40, such that shown in FIG. 5. The power sub cell 400 includes a DC input 106 with first and second DC input terminals 106A and 106B coupleable to receive DC input power from the corresponding rectifier 120. In addition, the sub cell 400 has a DC link circuit 130 and a switching circuit (e.g., converter) 140 driving an output 104 as described above in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. The DC link circuit 130 is coupled with the DC input 106 and includes one or more capacitances C coupled between first and second DC link nodes 131 and 132 as in the above described power cells 100, wherein the inverter control component 220 of the controller 200 provides inverter switching control signals 222 for providing an output voltage V_(OUT) with one of at least two discrete levels at the output 104.

For bypass operation, at least one DC link control switch 101 is coupled between the DC input 106 and the DC link circuit 130. In the example of FIG. 6, the DC link control switch 101 is connected in the upper DC branch between the input terminal 106A in the first DC link terminal 131, although other embodiments are possible in which a DC link control switch 101 is connected instead in the lower DC branch between the second DC input terminal 106B and the second DC link node 132.

Also, as seen in FIG. 7, first and second DC link control switches 101A and 101B can be provided in other embodiments, with one such DC link control switch (e.g., 101A) between the input terminal 106A and the first DC link node 131 and another switch (101B) connected between the second input terminal 106B and the second DC link node 132. Moreover, one or more output control switches 103 can be provided to selectively interrupt current flow between one or both of the inverter internal nodes 141 and/or 142 and the corresponding terminal of the output 104.

As in the above embodiments, the DC link control switch 101 in FIG. 6 (or each of the switches 101A and 101B in FIG. 7) of the power sub cell 400 is operative in first and second states to selectively allow or prevent current flow between the DC input 106 and the DC link circuit 130 under control of the bypass controller component 210 via signal(s) 212-1. In addition, the power sub cells 400 of FIGS. 6 and 7 include a bypass switch 102 coupled across the output 104 for selective output bypassing via control signal 212-2 as in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3 discussed above. For bypass operation, the controller 200 provides the signals 212-1 and 212-2 to the power sub cell 400 to open the DC link control switch(es) 101 and to close the bypass switch 102, where the controller 200 in certain embodiments actuates the DC link control switch or switches 101 at time T1 prior to closing the bypass switch at time T2. Moreover, the controller can actuate any provided output control switch(es) 103, for instance, using signal(s) 212-3 at time T3 between T1 and T2 in certain embodiments.

Referring now to FIGS. 8-16, the present disclosure provides multilevel power converters or conversion systems 10 with a plurality of power stages 100 connected in series to form a multilevel inverter circuit 40, individually including a DC link circuit 130, an output 104 and a switching circuit 140 similar in some respects to those described above. In addition, a single relay or contactor 500 having two or more pole single-throw contacts is used in a given cell for bypass operations. In certain embodiments, a coil 502 of the relay or contactor 500, with or without magnetic latching solenoid, is selectively energized or otherwise actuated under control of a local controller 200 (e.g., FIGS. 8-10), whereas a central controller 506 operates the relay or contactor coil 502 in other embodiments (e.g., FIGS. 11-15). In general, a single relay or contactor 500 is provided having a coil 502 and one or more normally closed contacts CNC1 and/or CNC2 providing selective connection during normal operation between the cell switching circuit 140 and the output 104 and disconnection thereof in bypass operation, as well as a normally open contact CNO1 connected across the first and second output terminals 104A and 104B to selectively connect the output terminals during bypass operation.

One non-limiting example is shown in FIG. 8 in which a power cell embodiment 100 includes a triple pole single throw relay or contactor 500 comprising a coil 502 providing mechanical actuation (shown as dashed line 501) for a pair of normally closed output control contacts CNC1 and CNC2, as well as for a normally open bypass contact CNO1 for selectively shorting the cell output terminals 104A and 104B for bypassing the cell 100. As seen in FIG. 8, moreover, the coil 502 is selectively energized in this example by a control signal or voltage 504 from a bypass control component or circuit 210 of a local controller 200 which also includes an inverter control component or system 220 providing the inverter switching control signals 222 to operate the switches Q1-Q4 of the switching circuit 140. In this regard, the embodiment of FIG. 8 provides local control to operate the power cell 100, including the relay or contactor implemented bypass features. Although illustrated as a triple pole single throw device 500 including first and second output control contacts CNC1 and CNC2, other implementations may include a simple double pole single throw relay or contactor 500 having a single normally closed output control contact (e.g., CNC1 or CNC2) along with a normally open bypass contact (e.g., CNO1). It is noted that the use of single throw contacts in the single relay or contactor 500 advantageously provide more reliable switching for bypassing a given power cell 100 then double throw contacts or other multi-throw contact arrangements. This configuration, alone or in further combination with time delay features provides advanced bypass control capabilities not previously possible using multi-throw devices or other switching configurations requiring multiple actuating signals.

The coil 502 in FIG. 8 includes a first terminal coupled to receive the signal or voltage 504 from the local controller 200, as well as a second terminal for the current return 504 a, with the bypass control component 210 providing an AC or DC signal or voltage 504 to energize the coil 502, and removing such signal or voltage to deenergize the coil 502, or change the polarity of such signal or voltage to reverse the state of magnetic latching solenoid. In this regard, AC and/or DC energized relays or contactors 500 can be used, and the energization of the coil 502 can be by way of a continuous signal 504 and/or by a pulse signal for a self-latching device 500, wherein the relay or contactor 500 can include means for accommodating a separate deactivation signal in certain embodiments. Moreover, other coil interconnection configurations are possible, for example, with one terminal of the coil 502 being connected to a positive or negative AC or DC voltage source, and with the controller 200 selectively grounding the other terminal 504 a for energizing the coil 502.

Any suitable relay or contactor 500 can be used in which a single coil 502 provides for actuation 501 of the contacts CNC1, CNC2 and CNO1 under control of a local controller 200 as shown, or under control of a central controller 506, as illustrated and described further below in connection with FIGS. 11-15. Moreover, the various contacts can be actuated essentially concurrently in certain embodiments, although time delay relay architectures, for example including copper discs between the armature and moving blade assembly, air or oil-filled Pistons or dashpots, etc., can be used providing a fixed or adjustable time delay between actuation (e.g., energization) of the coil 502 and actuation (opening or closure) of one or more of the contacts and/or a time delay between actuation of certain contacts or sets thereof within the relay or contactor 500 in response to the single coil 502 being energized. For instance, a single relay or contactor 500 can be used having a single coil 502 causing selective closure of the normally open bypass contact CNO1 some delay time following opening of the output control contacts CNC1 and CNC2 (e.g., similar to the delay timing between T2 and T3 in FIG. 3 above). Moreover, such delay timing components may be employed in a single relay or contactor 500 in order to implement a delay between initial opening of normally closed DC link control contacts (e.g., CNC3 and CNC4 in FIG. 15 below) and opening of the normally closed output control contacts CNC1 and CNC2, for example, to implement the time delay features discussed above in connection with FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example power cell embodiment 100 with a triple pole single throw relay or contactor 500 with a coil 502 for selective actuation of normally closed output control contacts CNC1 and CNC2 and a normally open bypass contact CNO1. In addition, the embodiment of FIG. 9 includes a DC link switch 101A coupled between the first rectifier node 121 and the first DC link node 131. In this case, the bypass control component 210 provides the coil energization signal 504 as well as a control signal 212-1 to operate the DC link control switch 101A, for example, using DC link control switching concepts as described above. In this manner, the configuration of FIG. 9 bypasses the output 104 of the cell 100 and also disconnects the rectifier 120 from the inverter switching circuit 140 in response to the coil 502 being energized.

FIG. 10 shows another power cell embodiment 100 with a triple pole single throw relay or contactor 500 with a coil 502 operated by the local controller 200 as described above, where the power cell 100 in this case further includes first and second DC link switches 101A and 101B operated via a single control signal 212-1 from the local controller 200.

FIG. 11 shows yet another non-limiting power cell embodiment 100 with a triple pole single throw relay or contactor 500 having a coil 502, along with first and second DC link switches 101A and 101B operated by the local controller 200 via signal 212-1 for selectively disconnecting both rectifier nodes 121 and 122 from the inverter switching circuit nodes 131 and 132, respectively. In the example of FIG. 11, moreover, the relay or contactor coil 502 is selectively energized by a signal 504 from a central controller 506 operatively coupled with the local controller 200. In this configuration, the local controller 200 is associated with a given power cell 100, and provides switching control signals 222 to the associated cell 100 as well as the DC link switch control signal 212-1 for that cell 100, with the central controller 506 providing bypass control signals 504 to a plurality of cells 100 within a power conversion system 10. In this regard, the central controller 506 and the relay or contactor control signal 504 can be electrically isolated from other signals and circuits associated with a given power cell 100 due to the galvanic isolation provided by the coil 502.

FIG. 12 illustrates another embodiment of a power cell 100 with a triple pole single throw relay or contactor 500 operated by the central controller 506 via signal 504 as described above, where the local controller 200 provides the inverter switching control signals 222 using locally derived power obtained from the DC section 131 and 132 or the AC input section 108 of the cell 100. In this regard, the DC link capacitance C may be implemented by series connection of one or more capacitances or groups thereof between the DC link nodes 131 and 132 to implement a capacitive DC link. The use of the local power to operate the local controller 200 enhances modularity of the system design using multiple power cells 100, with the provision of the bypass control signal 504 via the central controller 506 providing central bypass control with the advantage that the bypass control signal 504 and its generation by the central controller 506 are independent of the power status of the bypassed cell 100 and the rectifier 120 thereof. Thus, the cell can be safely bypassed even if the rectifier 120 is wholly or partially inoperative.

FIG. 13 illustrates a power cell embodiment 100 with a triple pole single throw relay or contactor 500 again operated by a signal 504 from the central controller 506. In this case, the local controller 200 is locally powered the DC section 131 and 132 or the AC input section 108 of the cell 100, and the cell 100 includes first and second DC link switches 101A and 101B operated by a control signal 212-1 from the central controller 506. In this regard, the central controller 506 can implement timing control between the signals 212-1 and 504, for example, to open the DC link switches 101 prior to energizing the coil 502 via the signal 504, or the signals 212-1 and 504 can be asserted at the same time in other embodiments. Moreover, the configuration of FIG. 13 advantageously provides for central control of the DC link switches 101, thereby making the DC link disconnection operations independent of the powering of the local controller 200.

FIG. 14 shows another power cell embodiment 100 with a four pole single throw relay or contactor 500 having a coil 502 operated by the central controller 506. In this example, a DC link interruption function is implemented by a third normally closed contact CNC3 of the relay or contactor 500, which is coupled between the first rectifier node 121 and the first DC link node 131. In normal operation, the contact CNC3 is closed thereby allowing current to flow from the rectifier 121 to the switching circuit 140. When the controller 506 energizes the relay or contactor coil 502 via the signal 504, however, the DC link contact CNC3 is opened, thereby discontinuing the connection between the rectifier 120 and the switching circuit 140.

Another example is shown in FIG. 15 in which the power cell 100 includes a five pole single throw relay or contactor 500 having a coil 502 operated by a signal 504 from the central controller 506, and where the relay or contactor 500 includes a further normally closed contact CNC4 connected between the second rectifier node 122 and the second DC link node 132. Like the embodiment of FIG. 14, this implementation provides for central control of the output bypassing features via the contacts CNC1, CNC2 and CNO1, as well as DC link disconnection during bypass operation via the normally closed DC link contacts CNC3 and CNC4, where the DC link disconnection operates to power down the local controller 200 since the VSN 308 is unpowered when the contacts CNC3 and CNC4 are opened by actuation of the signal 504 by the central controller 506.

FIG. 16 shows another bypass method embodiment 510 for bypassing a power cell 100 in a multilevel power conversion system 10, which may be implemented via a local controller 200 or by a central controller 506, or both, in certain embodiments. At 512 in FIG. 16, the controller (200 and/or 506) activates the relay coil or contactor coil 502 in order to open one or more normally closed output control contacts (e.g., CNC1 and/or CNC2 in FIGS. 8-15 above) and any included normally closed DC link contacts (e.g., contacts CNC3 and/or CNC4 above). In addition, the operation at 512 also includes closing the normally open bypass control contact (e.g., CNO1). By these operations, the cell 100 is easily bypassed, with the relay or contactor implementation advantageously providing a simple mechanism for bypassing one or more selected cells 100 in a multilevel inverter circuit 40 to allow continued system operation when one or more given cells 100 are malfunctioning and/or for ease of system troubleshooting.

The above examples are merely illustrative of several possible embodiments of various aspects of the present disclosure, wherein equivalent alterations and/or modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon reading and understanding this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, systems, circuits, and the like), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component, such as hardware, processor-executed software, or combinations thereof, which performs the specified function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the illustrated implementations of the disclosure. In addition, although a particular feature of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Also, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in the detailed description and/or in the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising”. 

The following is claimed:
 1. A power conversion system, comprising: a plurality of power stages connected in series to form a multilevel inverter circuit for connection to a load, the power stages individually comprising: a DC link circuit including at least one capacitance coupled between first and second DC link nodes, an output coupled with at least one other power stage in the multilevel inverter circuit, a switching circuit including a plurality of switching devices coupled between the DC link circuit and the output, the switching circuit operative according to a plurality of switching control signals to provide an output voltage having an amplitude of one of at least two discrete levels at the output, and a single relay or contactor, comprising: a coil, a first normally closed output control contact coupled between a first internal node of the switching circuit and a first output terminal of the output, the first output control contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the first internal node and the first output terminal when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the first internal node and the first output terminal when the coil is energized, a second normally closed output control contact coupled between a second internal node of the switching circuit and a second output terminal of the output, the second output control contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the second internal node and the second output terminal when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the second internal node and the second output terminal when the coil is energized, and a normally open bypass contact coupled across the output, the bypass contact operative to allow normal operation of the output in a first state when the coil is deenergized, and to bypass the output of the switching circuit in a second state when the coil is energized; and a controller operative to selectively energize the coil of at least one of the plurality of power stages to bypass the at least one power stage; wherein the single relay or contactor further comprises a third normally closed contact coupled between the first DC link node and a first DC node of a rectifier, the third contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the first DC link node and the first DC node when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the first DC link node and the first DC node.
 2. The power conversion system of claim 1, wherein the controller is a local controller providing switching control signals to operate the plurality of switching devices of the switching circuit of the at least one power stage; and wherein the controller is operative to selectively energize the coil of the at least one power stage to bypass the at least one power stage.
 3. The power conversion system of claim 1, comprising: at least one local controller providing the switching control signals to operate the plurality of switching devices of the switching circuit of the at least one power stage; and a second controller operative to selectively energize the coil of the at least one power stage to bypass the at least one power stage.
 4. The power conversion system of claim 3, wherein the single relay or contactor further comprises: a fourth normally closed contact coupled between a second DC node of the rectifier and the second DC link node, the fourth contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is energized.
 5. The power conversion system of claim 1, wherein the single relay or contactor further comprises: a fourth normally closed contact coupled between a second DC node of the rectifier and the second DC link node, the fourth contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is energized.
 6. The power conversion system of claim 1, wherein the single relay or contactor is an N-pole, single-throw device, where N is an integer having a value of 3 or more.
 7. The power conversion system of claim 6, wherein the controller is a local controller providing switching control signals to operate the plurality of switching devices of the switching circuit of the at least one power stage; and wherein the controller is operative to selectively energize the coil of the at least one power stage to bypass the at least one power stage.
 8. The power conversion system of claim 6, comprising: at least one local controller providing the switching control signals to operate the plurality of switching devices of the switching circuit of the at least one power stage; and a second controller operative to selectively energize the coil of the at least one power stage to bypass the at least one power stage.
 9. The power conversion system of claim 8, wherein the single relay or contactor further comprises: a fourth normally closed contact coupled between a second DC node of the rectifier and the second DC link node, the fourth contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is energized.
 10. The power conversion system of claim 6, wherein the single relay or contactor further comprises: a fourth normally closed contact coupled between a second DC node of the rectifier and the second DC link node, the fourth contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the second DC node and the second DC link node when the coil is energized.
 11. A power cell for use as a power stage in a multilevel inverter circuit, the power cell comprising: a DC link circuit including at least one capacitance coupled between first and second DC link nodes; an output; a switching circuit including a plurality of switching devices coupled between the DC link circuit and the output, the switching circuit operative according to a plurality of switching control signals to provide an output voltage having an amplitude of one of at least two discrete levels at the output; and a single relay or contactor, comprising: a coil, a first normally closed output control contact coupled between a first internal node of the switching circuit and a first output terminal of the output, the first output control contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the first internal node and the first output terminal when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the first internal node and the first output terminal when the coil is energized, a second normally closed output control contact coupled between a second internal node of the switching circuit and a second output terminal of the output, the second output control contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the second internal node and the second output terminal when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the second internal node and the second output terminal when the coil is energized, a normally open bypass contact coupled across the output, the bypass contact operative to allow normal operation of the output in a first state when the coil is deenergized, and to bypass the output of the switching circuit in a second state when the coil is energized, and a third normally closed contact coupled between the first DC link node and a first DC node of a rectifier, the third contact operative in a first state to allow current to flow between the first DC link node and the first DC node when the coil is deenergized, and operative in a second state to prevent current from flowing between the first DC link node and the first DC node.
 12. A method for bypassing a power stage of a multilevel inverter circuit, the method comprising: energizing a coil of a single relay or contactor to open first and second normally closed output control contacts and to close a normally open bypass control contact to bypass an output of the power stage; wherein energizing the coil opens a third normally closed contact coupled between a first DC link node and a first DC node of a rectifier to prevent current from flowing between the first DC link node and the first DC node. 